That’s how Meta viewed the app when it was evaluating launching a competitor that would eventually be called Threads. The FTC is trying to use Meta’s internal evaluations of Twitter to show that it doesn’t see the primary reason for going to Twitter as connecting with friends and family — and therefore, it’s arguing, in a different market from the one it says Facebook and Instagram monopolize.
Mosseri says the app finds the most success in blending entertainment with interacting with friends. That could look like commenting on a public post about a sporting event and interacting with a friend in the comments, he says. That’s important since Meta noted in documents around 2018 that people were sharing less in their feeds, and public content was increasing. The FTC is trying to point out that even if posting to the apps has declined, there’s still friends and family interaction happening.
The FTC is beginning its questioning of the Meta executive by fleshing out what users want out of Instagram. The testimony will help shape how the judge thinks about the market Meta competes in: a limited market in social media networking to keep up with friends and family, or a broader market including entertainment that encompasses apps like TikTok and YouTube.
The president announced on Truth Social that he’s nominating Dr. Casey Means, who The New York Times says “frequently casts doubt on the American medical system,” for the position.
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, who had been the previous nominee, will work in “another capacity” at the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump said.
On Monday, a report from 404Media found that a hacker obtained direct messages and CBP contact information from TeleMessage after Mike Waltz was spotted using the company’s modified version of Signal.
Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Rhonda Lawson told Wired that the agency “immediately disabled” TeleMessage in response to the attack and that its “investigation into the scope of the breach is ongoing.”
The FDA met with OpenAI to discuss how the agency could use AI tools for a project called cderGPT, which may stand for the Center for Drug Evaluation, according to a report from Wired. This week, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary brought up goals to eventually shorten the drug approval process with AI.
Schultz began testifying about how Meta tracked the rise of mobile messaging apps. Mosseri is expected to take the stand tomorrow and we’ll go live again then.
The “AI Diffusion Act,” which the Biden administration announced in January, would control how advanced AI chips are exported to other countries based on national security risk. Sources tell Bloomberg that the Trump administration is planning to rescind the act before it goes into effect on May 15th, and is “actively working toward a new rule that would strengthen the control of chips abroad.”
[bloomberg.com]
Alex Schultz, who’s worked at Meta for years in growth and analytics, is now testifying. He clarifies during the FTC’s introductory questions that while there are multiple VPs of analytics, he is “the” VP of analytics. While I was across the courthouse covering Apple executive Eddy Cue’s testimony in the Google remedies case, WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart was testifying earlier today, followed by an FTC expert who surveyed users about their main motivations for using various social media apps.
